BERLICUM - The Brabant nights were wild and full of loud singing and things can only get better. The four final players for the Masters three-cushion, the Dutch championship in Berlicum, showed stunning form on the Saturday before the climax, a rare final sprint and are gearing up for a wonderful final feast. Among the four, Dick Jaspers was the best winner with 2.857 average, Jean van Erp was not far behind with 2.500, Barry van Beers finished his match with 1.905 and Glenn Hofman dragged his victory away from the gates of hell playing Raymund Swertz in a real thriller. The Masters are set for high-level matches for the medals. The quarter-finals on Saturday at first lacked the excitement that can make billiards even more wonderful, but Glenn Hofman and Raymund Swertz, in a battle that ended in 40-39 for the Hague player, made the final breathtaking in the end.
The matches were erratic on this Saturday with sudden attacks and short slumps, high scores and decisive 0-parts. Dick Jaspers, for instance, jumped against Adrie Demming from 10-5 down by 10 and 9 to 24-10 ahead and at the finish 40-19 in 14/13. Jean van Erp got off to a magnificent start against Sam van Etten, who received tremendously bad balls, with 2, 8 and 5 for a spacious 15-1, with another 9 to 30-4 and finally (after a total of 10 zeros for the North Holland player) to 40-7 in 16/15 innings. Barry van Beers, totally in a poor day before, stayed level with Erwin Kivits until 10-10, from then on he pulled out all the stops and triumphed 40-16 in 21
And then, on the early Saturday evening, only the match between Raymund Swertz and Glenn Hofman remained to decide the last of four finalists. The favorite before: Glenn Hofman due to his stable form and great performance in the run-up. The outsider: Raymund Swertz, partly due to his great match on Friday against Jean Paul de Bruijn after his minor start on the first day
Not like the other three quarter-finals, it was far from a quick game, no battle with high runs: it was 13-13 in 13 innings and also became 24-24. Then entered that blood-soaked final. Raymund Swertz got the finish line in sight by a run of 3, followed by a magnificent 11, before missing his first match ball.
The score then: 39-33 for Swertz. Hofman first made a 3 (for 39-36), Swertz missed a second match ball (bankshot), a third (not a very hard three rail shot) and offered Hofman another chance in the dead silence on the stands. The Hague player, last year's finalist in the Masters, brought out the best in himself and completed the feat with a perfect 4: 40-39 in 35/34.
The semi-finals Sunday:
11.00: Dick Jaspers-Barry van Beers
13.00: Jean van Erp-Glenn Hofman.
16.00: Final.
All matches live on Kozoom.
Glenn Hofman and Raymund Swertz at the kick-off
Jean van Erp in his excellent game with Sam van Etten
Barry van Beers at the start for his match with Erwin Kivits
Raymund Swertz missed the finals after missing three match balls